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Parents in Seattle, Washington were on edge on Tuesday morning after two men attempted to kidnap different children within two hours of each other.
Seattle Police determined the two kidnapping attempts were unrelated and both suspects were later identified and arrested.
Kidnappings in America
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), attempted abductions most often occur on the street while children are walking, biking, or playing outside.
The majority of kidnappings involving school-age children occur before and after school when children are traveling from home to school and after dinner between 6-7 p.m.
In 2020, the NCMEC reported more than 600 attempted abductions, with the most common lure tactics including:
- Offering a child a ride
- Offering a child money
- Offering a child treats
- Asking the child questions
- Using an animal to interest the child
The Kidnapping Attempts
At approximately 11:14 a.m., police received reports of a man attempting to force a 10-year-old girl into a vehicle, police said. The suspect was later identified as 38-year-old Nash Miller.
A probable cause affidavit obtained by KIRO7 stated Miller got out of his vehicle, opened the trunk, punched the victim in the stomach and picked her up to place her inside the trunk.
As Miller was closing the trunk door, an Amazon driver and babysitter ran to the scene after hearing screams, KIRO7 reported.
Both witnesses successfully pulled the child out of the trunk as Miller fled the scene, Seattle Police said in a press release.
Officers were able to obtain information about Nash and his vehicle and he was later arrested in a nearby neighborhood.
Nash was booked into the King County Jail as Seattle Police continue to investigate the incident.
7 Miles Away
In a separate incident about seven miles away, a 45-year-old man identified in court documents as Dustin Timmer attempted to kidnap a 7-year-old boy.
According to police, Timmer attempted to grab a child on a downtown street at approximately 12:50 p.m., just 90 minutes after Nash's failed kidnapping attempt.
Police received multiple reports from witnesses who said they saw the man grabbing the child who was walking with his grandmother.
According to the child's grandmother, the two were walking when a man came up behind them and grabbed the child off the ground.
"As the man tried to leave with the boy, the grandmother grabbed on to the child and pulled him away, while a passerby helped fight the man off," police said in a press release.
Timmer fled the scene but was located by police several blocks away.
Police said Timmer "appeared to be in a state of crisis" before he was arrested and booked into the King County Jail.
KIRO7 reported Timmer also faced two felony charges in King County in 2013 and 2020. The court deemed Timmer incompetent both times. He also has misdemeanor convictions in four states, KIRO7 reported.
Other Kidnapping Attempts
On August 8, a school bus driver in New Hampshire was arrested after allegedly threatening a student with kidnapping and torture for not obeying his demands.
In Florida, an elderly man was arrested after allegedly offering a mother $100,000 to buy her 8-year-old girl at a grocery store.
In California last month, a woman was arrested after allegedly posing as a nurse in an attempt to kidnap a newborn baby.
About the writer
Samantha Berlin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on trends and human-interest stories. Samantha ... Read more